Greater Grand Forks community invited to open forum on UND reaccreditation Oct. 28, help University move from great to exceptionalPosted on 10/24/2013

A team of visitors from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) -- the region's leading academic accrediting body -- soon will be here to review UND's academic policies and procedures in preparation for reaccreditation. This marks the 100th anniversary of UND's initial accreditation.

As part of this momentous visit, the Greater Grand Forks community is invited to attend a Community Open Forum at 4-5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, in the UND Memorial Union Lecture Bowl.

UND President Robert Kelley encourages the public to take part in this event because it's vital for the success of the University that HLC team members collect all the necessary information from as many voices as possible, including our friends and neighbors in the Greater Grand Forks community.

Institutional accreditation, which ensures that the institution itself functions according to essential quality standards, is a prerequisite for program accreditation. Without University-wide accreditation, all UND programs would be compromised.

That's why about 150 faculty, staff, students, and administrators from across UND have spent the past 36 months preparing for reaccreditation by the HLC.

Every member of UND community and beyond should be prepared. By reading the self-study executive summary at UND.edu/hlc, members of the public can help the reaccreditation effort by being informed and answering any questions the HLC team members may have. The website also has information on how the self-study was done, what the five criteria for reaccreditation are and bullet-point findings regarding UND's strengths and weaknesses by criteria.

Free public parking will be available in the large parking lot north of UND's Memorial Stadium, along North Columbia Road. Signs at the lot will indicate the specific public parking areas for the HLC Forum.

UND looks forward to seeing a strong showing from the Grand Forks community at the Community Open Forum from 4-5p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, at the Memorial Union Lecture Bowl.